This invention relates to method and apparatus for generating and issuing financial instruments, such as money orders and similar negotiable instruments, and for securing payment therefor by drawing funds directly from a customer""s bank account, by drawing funds from a smart card, or by accepting currency through a bill acceptor. The invention more particularly relates to apparatus which may be provided as a subsystem of an existing stand-alone device, such as a postal kiosk, an informational kiosk, an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), a Point of Sale terminal (POS), a vending machine and the like.
Transfer of funds between parties to a commercial transaction is essential for completion of such transactions. The simplest and most straight-forward exchange involves cash, in a physical exchange of currency. However, in a more complex society where transactions involve great distances and are conducted between parties who do not know each other, various other approaches are available for implementing such transfers of funds, ranging from transactions involving orders (drafts) directing a third party (such as a bank) to debit an account of a drawing party by a specified amount and to provide that amount to a presenting party, to still more complex transactions involving credit cards, debit cards, electronic funds transfers (EFT) and the like.
One system implementing a financial transaction is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,945 to Thomson et al, wherein various accounting functions are implemented by combining data from two or more sources to prepare an integrated document, including an invoice and a negotiable instrument, such as a bank check.
Another approach is disclosed in Benton et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,981, which provides an online electronic funds transfer system incorporating facsimile machines to transfer electronic funds data of buyers and sellers located at common or remote points of sale for clearance by an automated clearing house (ACH) or other facility.
Each of these systems involves various steps and accounting procedures which enhance the security associated with various transactions. However, it is frequently desirable or necessary to undertake financial transactions in a simplified manner, similarly to utilization of cash transfers, without the necessity of undertaking the complexities of check writing and cashing, and without requiring the parties themselves to have (or have access to) facilities capable of implementing EFT, or credit and debit transactions. The above described systems implement transactions in a manner that is significantly more complex than cash transactions, and are thus less likely to be used to replace cash transactions.
However, it is also known that transfers of cash and currency lack the security afforded by the other forms of funds transfers hereinabove described. Accordingly, there has evolved a form of funds transfer intermediate the simplicity of currency transfers in the form of cash exchanges, which are essentially devoid of security measures, and the more secure (but more complex) transactions involving drafts, EFT, debit and credit cards.
In such an intermediate form of funds transfer, money orders are used, instead of exchanges of cash between two parties to a transaction. Such money orders are, effectively, promises to pay made by a third party, whose reputation, credit and solvency are known to, and accepted by, both parties to the transaction. However, although conceptually simple, from a practical point of view it is frequently bothersome to obtain such money orders.
That is, one or both parties to a transaction must visit a facility of the third party, where the third party (or its personnel) may accept appropriate payment from one of the parties in cash, or upon verification of identity and of funds availability of the party if other forms of payment are used, in order to issue such a money order. As one example, the United States Postal Service is known to issue money orders. However, although numerous postal facilities are available throughout the United States, the number of such facilities is necessarily limited. Similarly, while banks may issue similar negotiable instruments, whether in the form of a cashier""s check or other instrument, the number of banking facilities is also limited.
Moreover, in order to obtain money orders or similar instruments at such facilities, it is frequently necessary to wait for service and, once attended to, to await completion of appropriate identity verification prior to issuance of the money order. Thus, in order to implement such a transaction it is frequently necessary to lose potentially valuable time.
In Minematsu et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,312 there is described a lobby organization for a financial institution to include a system for implementing transactions between financial institutions and their customers. The system is intended to simplify such transactions and, as disclosed therein, provides devices in the lobby of the financial institution for operation by the customers. Devices such as automated teller machines (ATM""s) are contemplated, used to keep customers better informed and to eliminate paperwork requirements. While the disclosed transaction system is indicated as having money orders as one of its categories, the term as used therein appears to relate to a literal translation from the original language of the Minematsu disclosure, with respect to ordering of money from an ATM for example, rather than to the specific financial instrument used in the U.S. as contemplated herein. Thus, while a cash dispensing (xe2x80x9cCDxe2x80x9d) machine is disclosed as well as a passbook/certificate printer, none of the disclosed transactions relates to generating a secure instrument which may be provided to a second party in lieu of cash.
Indeed, the ""312 patent teaches (at columns 11 and 12 thereof) a paperless system in which the only thing that has to be done is to confirm agreement between the total amount of money registered and the total amount of cash. Thus, when the disclosed transaction system refers to a xe2x80x9cmoney orderxe2x80x9dcategory, such reference is with respect to informing a teller at a first line terminal of the nature of a customer""s business, to permit the teller to implement the transaction as described at column 13 therein.
The prior art thus fails to disclose any system which includes a plurality of devices, or kiosks, enabling customers to operate independently to generate secure financial instruments such as money orders at any desired location and at any time, subject only to a verifiable presentation of currency or presence of funds in an account to be debited therefor.
There is accordingly a need for a system of generating money orders which is free of such deficiencies.
More particularly, there is a need for a system capable of providing numerous facilities, each capable of quickly and efficiently generating and issuing money orders, while also maintaining a high level of security to assure that appropriate payment for the money orders, as well as for any fees and expenses associated therewith, is properly made by users of such facilities.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a customer operated system for generating financial instruments having value, such as money orders and the like.
It is a more specific object of the invention to provide an automated system which verifies receipt of appropriate funds, and which generates money orders and similar instruments in accordance with the received funds, automatically, quickly and efficiently.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a universally accessible, automated, system for securely generating financial instruments such as money orders, which is not limited to specific facilities, and which may operate in conjunction with known automated facilities such as postal kiosks, informational kiosks, automated teller machines (ATM), point of sale terminals (POS), vending machines or the like, or any combination of the above.
It is still a more specific object of the invention to provide a subsystem, suitable for incorporation in and use with available automated facilities, for securely generating and issuing financial instruments such as money orders.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a system for generating and issuing financial instruments such as money orders and for securing payment therefor by drawing funds directly from a customer""s bank account, by drawing funds from a smart card, or by accepting currency through a bill acceptor.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and drawings, wherein there is shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of illustration and not of limitation of one of the best modes (and alternative embodiments) suited to carry out the invention. The invention itself is set forth in the claims appended hereto. As will be realized upon examination of the specification and drawings and from practice of the same, the present invention is capable of still other, different, embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims. Accordingly, the drawings and the descriptions provided herein are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive of the invention.